


Surprises and Stars

by squirrelmort



Category: Free!
Genre: Camping, Free shipping relay, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-08
Updated: 2014-10-08
Packaged: 2018-02-20 08:54:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2422718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squirrelmort/pseuds/squirrelmort
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After regionals, the Iwatobi boys plus Rin and Ai go camping. Ai and Nagisa get a chance to know each other better.</p>
<p>Originally posted in the Free Shipping Relay summer 2014.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Surprises and Stars

“We should probably start setting up tents before it gets darker,” Makoto announced. Fall was swiftly approaching, and the Iwatobi team had decided to go on another camping training trip before it got too cold to swim in the ocean, this time with Rin and Aiichiro in tow. Hopefully this time would go smoother than the last.

“I’m sharing with RinRin!” Nagisa announced, grabbing Rin’s arm. Everyone just stood silent for a moment, until Rei spoke up.

“Nagisa-kun, I thought we were going to share a tent this time.”

“I already shared a room with you at regionals,” Nagisa pouted. “I barely get to see Rin-chan these days. He was in Australia, and then he was too busy fighting with us when he got back.”

“Ai and I were going to share…” Rin started.

“Ai gets to share a room with you _all the time_. You don’t mind, do you, Ai-chan?” Nagisa pleaded, leaning around Rin to look at the grey-haired boy on his other side.

Aiichiro wanted to say that yes, he would mind, but, looking into Nagisa’s round eyes, he found it hard to deny him, especially since Nagisa was the one who had insisted on inviting him on this trip. He had no clue why the other boy had gone out of his way to make sure he came, but he appreciated the thought. So he had come along, assuming he would be sharing Rin’s tent, but after seeing what had happened at regionals, he could hardly be surprised that things weren’t exactly going according to plan with these boys. After all, his plans had not involved everyone staring at him as they were now. “It’s fine. Rin-senpai and Hazuki-san can share a tent.”

“I told you to call me ‘Nagisa’,” murmured the blond boy.

“Are you sure?” Makoto asked with a worried look.

“Of course,” Ai forced a smile. “He’s right; I spend plenty of time with Rin-senpai.”

“Nitori-kun can share with me,” Rei announced.

With that seemingly settled, everyone went to work setting up their tents. Nagisa kept a running commentary throughout it all, with Rin answering when prompted and Makoto throwing in responses for both him and Haru. Rei and Ai worked in relative silence, and managed to get their tent pitched well before the others, both having spent plenty of time researching tents before the trip. As Rei tested the stability Ai sat down and watched the others.

Rei said something Ai didn’t quite catch. “Huh?”  

“They seem really close.” Rei sat down next to Ai to watch the others. Makoto and Haru had almost finished setting up, the two of them working in near unison. Meanwhile Rin was doing most of the work on his tent while Nagisa bounced around, nailing the poles down in a random order that probably made sense to him and only him, babbling about how _excited_ he was to be camping with Rin-chan and what they had brought to eat and all the scary stories he wanted to tell. “I don’t usually get to see all of them together. Seeing them, you would never expect Rin-san spent four years abroad.”

Ai agreed. Sure, he had heard Rin talk about Nanase-san a few times, and had seen them win that relay back in elementary school, but he hadn’t really realized just how close all four of them were. “I’m glad to see Rin-senpai happy. He seemed pretty lonely when he first enrolled at Samezuka,” Ai replied, watching the others laugh at something Rin had said.

“I admit I started to get a bit jealous, constantly hearing ‘Rin-chan’ this, and ‘Rin-chan’ that.”

Ai chuckled. “Well, I was getting tired about hearing about your Haru-san all the time.”  

Rei smiled. “We should probably get started on that campfire. It looks like they are almost done.”

They had just finished arranging the firewood into the proper shape when Nagisa came running up with the snacks they had brought. After finishing his tent, Makoto had decided to help Rin and told Nagisa to go check up on the others. “What are you two chatting about?”

“We were discussing various fire-starting techniques,” Rei explained.

“Ah.” Nagisa briefly glanced between the two of them, then sat down, opened up the bag of marshmallows, and popped one in his mouth.

“Uh, Hazuki-san, aren’t we going to toast those first?” Ai said

Nagisa smiled at Ai. “But they taste good this way. Want one?”

“Uh, no thanks.”

“Nagisa-kun, we’ll have the fire ready soon. Just wait for the others.”

“But Rei-chan…” Nagisa whined.

“It’ll just take a minute,” Rei assured him. Ai watched as the two just stared at each other for a minute. He didn’t know how Rei could stare down that pout (perhaps it just takes practice), but pretty soon Nagisa sighed, set down the marshmallows, and fetched a bottle of some sugary beverage from the snack bag. Rei adjusted his glasses and returned to the task at hand.

Eventually they got the fire started and the others joined them. They roasted marshmallows as the sunset. Once it was dark, Nagisa said they should tell scary stories, but Rin glanced at Mako before telling him no. He kept insisting until Rei suggested that Rin tell everyone more about Australia. Nagisa immediately agreed, and starting asking all sorts of questions, like how big the outback was and were there really kangaroos everywhere and if he met any British convicts.

Ai, having already gotten Rin to tell him all about his time abroad, was starting to nod off when Rin yelled, “I was there to swim, not learn history!” in response to one of Nagisa’s questions. Looking around, Ai noticed that most of the party looked as tired as he was. Nagisa even broke his pout to yawn.

“I’m going to sleep,” Haru declared before walking to his tent, Makoto following close behind with his flashlight and wishing the others a good night.

“Me, too,” muttered Rin.

“Oh, me, too!” Nagisa stood to walk off, then turned back with a serious look on his face. “Rei-chan, you have to promise not to swim away like last time.” Rei adjusted his glasses and agreed. “Ai-chan, keep an eye on him, ok?”

“Uh, ok,” Ai responded, glancing at Rei, who seemed very focused on putting out the fire.

“Night-night!” Nagisa called as he followed Rin into their tent.

“What was that about?” Ai asked.

Even in the dark, Rei looked slightly redder than usual. “Nothing. I just… went for a late night swim last time we were here.” Satisfied that the fire was out, Rei stood suddenly and turned towards their tent. “It’s late. We should sleep.” Ai followed behind.

………

Despite almost falling asleep at the fire, as soon as Ai got into his sleeping bag he was wide awake. He always had this problem in new sleeping situations. On the other hand, Rei seemed just fine, having not moved since zipping up their tent. After listening to Rei’s breaths for about half an hour, Ai finally gave up. A walk on the beach should help him calm down. Moving as quietly as he could, he picked up his flashlight, slowly unzipped the tent door, and let himself out.

After making sure Rei was still asleep, he took a moment to look around. The stars were bright enough that he probably didn’t even need his flashlight. He was about to slip it into his jacket pocket when he noticed a figure around what used to be their fire. Panicking, he flipped the flashlight on.

“Rei-chan?” Ai let out a sigh of relief. It was just Nagisa. His body was sitting facing the ocean with a blanket on his lap, but he had turned his head towards the light.

Ai lowered his flashlight so that he wouldn’t blind the other boy. “No, Hazuki-san, it’s just me.” He turned off his flashlight and stowed it back in his pocket, blinking to adjust to the darkness.

“Oh, Ai-chan! Is everything alright?” Nagisa sounded genuinely concerned.

“I’m just having a little trouble falling asleep. I thought a walk might help.”

“I’ll join you!” Ai shrugged, and Nagisa bounded over to him. He had hoped for a quiet walk, but couldn’t bring himself to upset the other teen. As they started walking, Nagisa added, “Rin-chan snores.”

“Oh. Sorry. I brought some earplugs you can borrow.”

“It’s fine.”

 After that brief exchange, they both fell silent. Ai had expected Nagisa to chatter as usual, but instead he just found himself listening to the waves. It would’ve been relaxing if Nagisa wasn’t constantly looking behind them and frowning. The worried look on his face concerned Ai. “Is something wrong?”

The blond boy’s face instantly transformed into a grin. “Everything’s fine, Ai-chan! But we probably shouldn’t go much further, right? Let’s head back.”

Ai raised an eyebrow. They hadn’t gone far at all— _is Hazuki afraid of the dark or something?_ But he had already started heading back, so Ai just followed. Once they got back to their camp, Nagisa bypassed his own tent and stuck his head in the one Ai was sharing with Rin. “Hazuki-kun? Your tent is over there.”

Nagisa turned back, his grin replaced with a genuine smile of relief. “I was just checking on Rei-chan. He has a habit of disappearing whenever we go somewhere.” Instead of going over to his tent, this time he went back to the dead fire pit, picking up his discarded blanket as he sat down.

Ai followed him. “He said something about a late-night swim…”

Nagisa laughed, but it seemed less cheerful than usual. “Yeah, he went swimming. Then he got caught in the storm, and we had to go after him.”

Ai didn’t know what to say. Of course he had known they were on the island last time, but he hadn’t really realized that they would’ve been outside during the storm he slept through in his hotel. Instead he just sat down next to him.

“I told him I would take responsibility, and then I let that happen.” Nagisa suddenly threw himself onto his back. “Wow, look how clear the sky is tonight!”

Ai leaned back on his arms. These abrupt subject and mood changes would take a while to get used to.

“Is there really no rock-hopper penguin constellation?”

_Where did that come from?_ “Not that I know of. But there is a swan,” he pointed towards Cygnus.

“That’s not very much like a penguin,” Nagisa muttered. “I supposed there isn’t a squid or mackerel either.”

“I don’t think so… There is Pisces, the fish.”

“Oh, where?!” Nagisa sat up excitedly.

Ai couldn’t help but smile. The blond’s excitement was infectious. “You can’t see it very well this time of year.” Nagisa frowned, so Ai added, “But there is Delphinus, the dolphin.”

“Oh, we should tell Haru about that. He was Poseidon’s messenger, wasn’t he?”

“Um, I think so. Why do you know that?”

Nagisa shrugged. “I read it in some book about ancient Greece. I was really into Greece for a while. But then I moved onto Egypt.”

“I didn’t know you like history.”

“I didn’t know you could talk without Rin-chan around,” Nagisa replied. “So, where is it?”

“You see how there’s sort of a diamond with a tail?” Ai pointed up at the sky. Nagisa leaned in to follow his hand. When his cheek brushed Ai’s arm, Ai pulled away slightly.

The movement did not go unnoticed by Nagisa, who turned to face him. “Ai-chan, do you dislike me?”

Another sudden subject change. “What?”

“Rin-chan said you seemed disappointed that you weren’t sharing his tent. And that you don’t like being called ‘Ai-chan.’ I just want to make you feel welcome.”

“Hazuki-san…”

“And you keep calling me ‘Hazuki-san.’ That is, when you actually talk to me. At first I thought that maybe you only talk to Rin-chan, but you were getting along fine with Rei-chan earlier, and I’ve seen you talking to Gou-chan…”

“Nagisa-kun!” Ai interrupted. “I don’t dislike you. I just…” He paused, thinking. Nagisa waited. “I needed to get used to you. You keep surprising me.”

Nagisa smiled, apparently satisfied with that answer. “Good. Because I like you. We should be friends.” He lay back down. “What other constellations are there?”

Ai lay down next to him, and hid his surprise when he suddenly felt the other boys head lean against his shoulder. Nagisa’s constant need to touch was one of the things he was trying to get used to. “Well, over there is Capricornus, my sign… When’s your birthday?”

“August first.”

“Ah. Leo isn’t visible just yet.”

“Then you’ll just have to show me when it is. Okay, Ai-chan?”

Ai turned his head to see Nagisa staring at him, their faces surprisingly close. “Okay.”

“Yay!” Nagisa cheered, then shivered.

“Are you cold? We should go…”

“That’s why I brought my blanket.” He reached down to grab the blanket resting on his feet. He threw it over both of them.

“Nagisa-kun, I’m fine.” Ai protested, but Nagisa ignored him.

“So what other constellations are there?” Nagisa asked, rubbing his head against Ai’s shoulder.

“Ursa Major is over there, to the north. You can see it makes sort of a ladle. And just south of that is another ladle, Ursa Minor. It contains Polaris, the north star…” He continued on, listing different constellations. As he was talking, he tilted his head slightly towards Nagisa’s. He didn’t consider himself a very touchy person, but he was starting to appreciate the warm body next to his. After a while he felt a slight dampness on his shoulder.

Nagisa had fallen asleep. And he was drooling. “Nagisa-kun.”

“Ai-chan… where’s the Iwatobi star…”

And now he was sleep talking. Ai shook his shoulder and said a bit louder, “Nagisa-kun.” Nagisa opened his eyes. “We should probably go to our tents.

Nagisa sat up, blinking. “Oh, right.” They both stood up and Nagisa folded his blanket over his arm. “Sorry I fell asleep while you were talking.”

“It’s fine. I’m pretty tired, too.” Ai smiled. He had enjoyed having someone to talk to about astronomy, even if the other person fell asleep during the conversation. “Good night, Nagi—” Ai was suddenly cut off by Nagisa’s lips on his. It was so quick that by the time he had realized what had happened, the blond had already turned and started to walk away. “Nagisa-kun.”

Nagisa turned back and waited for Ai to reach him. “I’m sorry.”

Ai just stared for a moment. “That’s what I mean by surprising me.”

“I told you I like you.”

Ai studied Nagisa. He really was full of surprises. First he invited him on this trip, even though they had barely spoken. Then he stole his tent-mate. But before he could pin him down as thoughtless and irresponsible, he showed concern of Rei’s well-being, and Ai’s own feelings. And then he kissed him. “… Surprises aren’t necessarily a bad thing.”

Nagisa’s head snapped up, and a moment later his face broke into a grin. _And that smile isn’t a bad thing either_ , Ai added in his head. “So it was ok?” Nagisa asked. Ai barely nodded before Nagisa threw his arms around him, squeezing him in a tight hug. When they broke apart, they were both smiling. “Good night, Ai-chan.”

_What the hay_ , Ai thought, _I could be a bit more spontaneous_. He quickly leaned into to peck Nagisa on the cheek. “See you in the morning, Nagisa-kun,” he replied, turning before he could check for a reaction.

………

“Nagisa, get out here; we need to put away the tent.” Rin physically dragged Nagisa out of their tent. Mako and Rei were already at work putting away their tents while Ai helped Haru fix breakfast. Nagisa mumbled to himself but helped Rin collapse their tent and get it into the bag.

Nagisa was still yawning as he sat down to breakfast (mackerel and bread). “Nagisa-kun, are you alright?” Rei asked, taking his seat next to him.

“Did you sleep alright?” Makoto asked.

“Rin snores too much,” complained Nagisa.

“What?! No, I don’t!” Rin yelled. Haru snorted and Rin glared at him. “Ai?”

“Yes, Rin-senpai?”

“Do I snore?”

“… Yes, Rin-senpai.”

“Wha—”

Rin started to protest, only to find a mouthful of mackerel thanks to Haru, who simply said, “It’s too early for this.” The look on Rin’s face was enough to make the sleepy Nagisa giggle. Makoto covered his mouth to hide his laughter, while both Rei and Ai immediately focused on their food; Ai new from experience that Rin was best left alone in the mornings. Haru acted as if nothing had happened, eating his breakfast and ignoring Rin’s glare.

The rest of the morning was pretty ordinary. After they ate they finished packing, then headed toward to dock to wait for Coach Sasabe’s boat.

A now fully awake Nagisa slowed down a bit to walk next to Ai. “Hey, Ai-chan, when will Leo be visible?”

Ai thought for a moment. “Hm… If you wake up early enough, you should be able to see it in October.”

“Then I’ll expect a text from you then!”

“Okay, Nagisa-kun.”

“Look, it’s Goro-chan!” Nagisa ran off to the end of the dock, waving and jumping.

Rin looked down at his roommate. “ ‘Nagisa… kun?’ ”

Ai just nodded in return.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted [here](http://freeshippingrelay.tumblr.com/post/93720936810/surprises-and-stars) for the Free! Shipping Relay for summer 2014. Thought it was about time I load it up here as well. (I hope I embedded that link correctly)


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